Monday, January 30, 2012

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Will Cherry scored 20 points and Mathias Ward added 18 while Kareem Jamar contributed 11 as the Montana Grizzlies (15-6 overall, 8-1 in Big Sky play) moved into a tie for first place atop the Big Sky Conference standings following their 69-67 Sunday road win over the Portland State Vikings (10-11, 4-5), the Grizzlies 10th win in their last 11 starts.

Jared Cunningham scored 24 of his 27 points in the second half, while Ahmad Clark added 15, Devon Collier 13, and Joe Burton 10 as the Oregon State Beavers (14-7 overall, 4-5 in Pac-12 play) defeated the Oregon Ducks (15-6, 6-3) 76-71 in the latest edition of the Civil War basketball series. The win marked only the Beavers' second triumph in their last 19 trips to Eugene. Devoe Joseph scored 26 points for the Ducks, who committed a season-high 23 turnovers.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Jarred DuBois, who came off the bench and scored a team-high 18 points, connected on a three-point shot with 17 seconds remaining as Loyola Marymount (13-9 overall, 6-3 in WCC play) defeated the visiting Portland Pilots (5-17, 2-7) 62-59 on Saturday. Kevin Bailey scored a career high-equaling 22 points to pace the Pilots.

Shawn Reid (who connected on the go-ahead three-point basket with 28 seconds remaining) and Xavier Blount each scored 15 points as the Montana State Bobcats (11-8 overall, 6-2 in Big Sky play) overcame a 15-point mid-second half deficit on Thursday and defeated the Portland State Vikings (10-10, 4-4) 70-65 on the road, outscoring the Vikings 27-7 in the process.

Robert Hagyes, the actor best remembered for his portrayal of the Puerto Rican-Jewish Sweathog Juan Luis Pedro Phillipo de Huevos Epstein on the 1970s television sitcom series Welcome Back Kotter, passed away on Thursday at an Edison, New Jersey hospital after having suffered a heart attack at age 60.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

The National Football League's two conference championship games took place on Sunday.

American Football Conference:

At Foxborough, Massachusetts:

Quarterback Tom Brady ran one yard for what proved to be the winning touchdown with 11:29 remaining in the fourth quarter as the New England Patriots won their seventh AFC title, their first in four years, 23-20 over the visiting Baltimore Ravens. Billy Cundiff's 32-yard field goal attempt, which would have tied the contest for the Ravens and sent the game into overtime with eleven seconds left, went wide left.

National Football Conference:

At San Francisco:

Quarterback Eli Manning threw two touchdown passes (six yards to Bear Pascoe and 17 to Mario Manningham) and Lawrence Tynes kicked two field goals, including the game winner 7:54 into overtime, as the New York Giants knocked off the home-standing San Francisco 49ers 20-17 to reach their fifth Super Bowl, their first since knocking off unbeaten New England four years ago.

It's a rematch of Super Bowl XLII from four years ago when the Giants and Patriots get together for Super Bowl XLVI, on Sunday February 5 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Joe Paterno, the legendary former head football coach at Penn State, the all-time winningest head coach in major college football history, passed away on Sunday at a State College, Pennsylvania hospital at age 85.

Coach Paterno had been in the hospital since January 13 for what his family had called "minor complications" from treatment of lung cancer, with which he was diagnosed with back in November, just days after he was ousted as the Nittany Lions' head coach in the wake of the sexual abuse scandal that involved former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

During his 46 seasons as Penn State head coach, "JoePa" won a Football Bowl Subdivision-recored 409 games and two national championships.

Before becoming the Nittany Lions' head coach, he had served as an assistant at the school from 1950, following his graduation from Brown University (where he was quarterback and defensive back) until he became the head coach in 1966.

More than 250 of the players that JoePa coached eventually went to the National Football League.

E. J. Singler scored 20 of his career-high 26 points (hitting 16 of 17 free throws) as the Oregon Ducks (15-5 overall, 6-2 in Pac-12 play) came back from a 37-24 halftime deficit to overtake the visiting UCLA Bruins (10-9, 3-4) 75-68 on Saturday. The Ducks shot only 23% from the field in the first half but outscored the Bruins 15-2 to start the second half. Garrett Sim added 16 points for Oregon, who won four straight conference games for the first time since 2007.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Etta James, a Grammy Award-winning singer whose forceful renditions of "At Last," I'd Rather Go Blind," "Tell Mama," and "Something's Got A Hold On Me" made her a widely admired interpreter of love and pain and one of the first rhythm-and-blues singers to gain mainstream popularity, passed away on Friday at a Riverside, California hospital at age 73.

Miss James had been diagnosed with dementia and leukemia.

For followers of mid-1950s R&B music, here's Etta's 1955 recording of "The Wallflower," which was her answer to Hank Ballard and the Midnighters' "Work With Me Annie." Etta's record scored very well on the R&B charts, only to see Georgia Gibbs come up with a cover recording that wound up a big hit on the pop charts. Etta's record became known as either "Roll With Me, Henry" or "Dance With Me Henry," the latter was the name of Georgia's cover.

Garrett Sim scored 20 points while Devoe Joseph added 15 and Olu Ashaolo 11 as the Oregon Ducks (14-5 overall, 5-2 in Pac-12 play), off to their best start in five years, racked up their third straight win on Thursday, 65-62 over visiting Southern California (5-14, 0-6), despite 22 points from the Trojans' Maurice Jones.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Johnny Otis, a pioneering rhythm-and-blues singer, songwriter, drummer, bandleader and disc jockey best remembered for his 1958 hit, "Willie and the Hand Jive," passed away on Tuesday in the Los Angeles area at the age of 90.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

The National Football League playoffs continued on Sunday with two divisional playoff games.

American Football Conference:

At Baltimore:

Quarterback Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes (one yard to Kris Wilson and 10 yards to Anquan Boldin) while defensive backs Lardarius Webb and Ed Reed came up with interceptions in the last 7 1/2 to help preserve the Baltimore Ravens' 20-13 home win over the Houston Texans, spoiling a solid performance from Texans running back Arian Foster who ran for 132 yards (the first running back to gain 100 or more yards in a playoff game against the Ravens) and a touchdown.

National Football Conference:

At Green Bay, Wisconsin:

Eli Manning threw for three touchdowns, two to Hakeem Nicks (66 yards in the first quarter, then 37 yards on a Hail Mary play at the end of the first half--two of his seven catches for 165 yards) and one to Mario Manningham (four yards) as the New York Giants upended the Green Bay Packers 37-20 on the road, handing the Packers their only home loss of the season and ending their one-year reign as Super Bowl Champions. The Giants' defense forced four Green Bay turnovers.

Next Sunday, the Giants will travel to San Francisco to face the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game (3:30 PM Pacific Time, Fox).

The Ravens will travel to Foxborough, Massachusetts for next Sunday's AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots (12:00 Noon Pacific Time, CBS).

The divisional phase of the National Football League playoffs got underway on Saturday with two games.

National Football Conference:

Quarterback Alex Smith threw three touchdown passes (and ran for another score), two of the tosses to tight end Vernon Davis (seven catches for 180 yards), including the game winner with 14 seconds remaining as the San Francisco 49ers blew a seventeen-point lead, then came back from behind a second time in the last 4:02 of regulation to defeat the visiting New Orleans Saints (who suffered five turnovers) 36-32. The Niners will face the winner of Sunday's New York Giants-Green Bay Packers contest in next Sunday's NFC Championship Game, their first such contest in fourteen years.

American Football Conference:

At Foxborough, Massachusetts:

Quarterback Tom Brady threw for six touchdowns, three to tight end Rob Gronkowski (10, 12, 19 yards, all in the first half) as the New England Patriots manhandled the visiting Denver Broncos 45-10, sacking Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow five times.

The Patriots will host next Sunday's AFC Championship Game against the winner of this coming Sunday's Houston-Baltimore clash.

Chanse Creekmur connected on six three-point shots enroute to scoring a career-high 24 points as the Arizona State Sun Devils (6-11 overall, 2-3 in Pac-12 play) came back from a three-point halftime deficit to overtake the visiting Oregon State Beavers (11-7, 1-5) 76-66 on Saturday.

Garrett Sim scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half, scoring the go-head three-pointer with 1:46 remaining as the Oregon Ducks (13-5 overall, 4-2) defeated the Arizona Wildcats (12-6, 3-2) 59-57 on the road on Saturday. This win completed only the second road sweep of the Arizona schools for the Ducks since the Wildcats and Arizona State joined the then-Pac-10 conference in 1978.

Rashad Green scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half (during which he made all seven shots from the field) as the San Francisco Dons (11-8 overall, 1-4 in WCC play), shooting 67.2% from the field, dominated the visiting Portland Pilots (5-12, 2-2) 104-70 on Thursday.

Charles Odum scored 22 points while Lateef McMullan added 20 as the Portland State Vikings (8-9 overall, 2-3 in Big Sky play) picked up their first road win of the season on Thursday night, 86-75 over the Northern Colorado Bears (5-10, 2-2).

Kyle Fogg scored 23 points as the Arizona Wildcats (12-5 overall, 3-1 in Pac-12 play) defeated the visiting Oregon State Beavers (11-6, 1-4) 81-73 in overtime on Thursday. The Beavers have dropped four of their last five games.

Monday, January 09, 2012

Jeremy Shelley kicked five field goals (23, 34, 41, 35, 44 yards) and Trent Richardson rumbled 34 yards for the game's lone touchdown as the #2 Alabama Crimson Tide (12-1), in avenging their only defeat of the regular season, smothered the top-ranked Louisiana State Tigers (13-1) 15-0 on Monday night to win their second BCS National Championship Game in three years.

The Crimson Tide defense held the Bayou Bengals to a grand total of 92 yards and five first downs in the contest while the Alabama offense gained 384 yards.

Linebacker Courtney Upshaw, with his seven tackle, one sack performance, was named Defensive MVP.

This was the first shutout ever in a BCS bowl and the Crimson Tide became the first team to win a national title without a conference championship since Minnesota in 1936. The national title is Alabama's ninth since the start of the media/coaches poll era in 1936.

From the Hal Roach Studios in 1932 (released theatrically by Metro Goldwyn Mayer), here are Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in "Their First Mistake."

In this one, Mrs. Hardy is irate that her husband Oliver is spending more time with his buddy, Stan. Ollie tries to adopt a baby, so that the Missus would be occupied while he continues carousing with Stanley. Thing don't turn out too well for Ollie, as it turns out.

Co-starring Mae Busch and Billy Gilbert, this short, with James Greene as recording engineer, was photographed by Art Lloyd, edited by Richard Currier, and directed by George Stevens (who makes an on-camera cameo as the boys' neighbor).

With Allen Crabtree scoring a career-high 26 points (helped along by six three-point baskets), Jorge Gutierrez adding 18 and Justin Cobbs contributing 15, the California Golden Bears (13-4 overall, 3-1 in Pac-12 play) defeated the Oregon Ducks (11-5, 2-2) for the eighth consecutive time on Sunday, this time 77-60 on the road.

The opening round of the National Football League playoffs concluded with two "Wild Card" games played on Sunday.

National Football Conference:

At East Rutherford, New Jersey:

Quarterback Eli Manning threw for three touchdowns (two to Hakeem Nicks [four and 72 yards] and one to Mario Manningham (27 yards) as the New York Giants stifled the visiting Atlanta Falcons 24-2. The Giants will face the Green Bay Packers on the road next Sunday afternoon.

American Football Conference:

At Denver:

Quarterback Tim Tebow, who had thrown a second-quarter touchdown pass to Eddie Royal and ran for a score in the same period, threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas on the first play from scrimmage in overtime as the Denver Broncos knocked out the visiting defending AFC champions Pittsburgh Steelers 29-23 to advanced to the divisional playoff round, and a Saturday night encounter in Foxborough, Massachusetts with the New England Patriots.

Saturday, January 07, 2012

Chasson Randle scored 24 points, two of them with what turned out to be the game-winning bucket with 37 minutes remaining in the fourth overtime period as the Stanford Cardinal (13-3 overall, 3-1 in Pac-12 play) defeated the Oregon State Beavers (11-5, 1-3) 103-101 on the road in the longest game in Cardinal men's basketball history. Roberto Nelson (whose last-ditch 3-pointer which would have won the game for Oregon State was off-target) and Jared Cunningham each scored 19 points for the Beavers.

Damien Lillard, the nation's leading scorer, converted on 8 of 14 three-point shots and scored 38 points to lead the Weber State Wildcats (12-3 overall, 4-0 in Big Sky play) to an 88-81 road win over the Portland State Vikings (7-9, 1-3) on Saturday.

The National Football League playoffs commenced with two "Wild Card" games on Saturday.

American Football Conference:

At Houston:

Rookie defensive lineman J. J. Watt ran back an interception 29 yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter while fellow rookie, quarterback T. J. Yates, threw 40 yards to Andre Johnson for another score, and Arian Foster ran 42 yards for another TD as the Houston Texans won their playoff debut, 31-10 over the Cincinnati Bengals, who haven't won a playoff game in 21 years, and who have never won one on the road.

The Texan will pay a visit on the Baltimore Ravens for a divisional playoff game next Sunday.

National Football Conference:

At New Orleans:

Quarterback Drew Brees completed 33 of 43 passes for 466 yards and three touchdowns (41 yards to Devery Henderson, three yards to Jimmy Graham, and 56 yards to Robert Meachem) while Darren Sproles ran for two more scores (2 and 17 yards) as the New Orleans Saints rolled up a playoff record 626 yards of total offense in their 45-28 home win over the Detroit Lions, who played their first playoff game in 12 years.

The Saints head to San Francisco for a Saturday afternoon divisional playoff battle next weekend against the 49ers.

Quarterback Brock Jensen threw for 39 yards to D. J. McNorton and ran for a yard for another score as the North Dakota State Bison (14-1) knocked off previously unbeaten Sam Houston State (14-1) 17-6 on Saturday to win their first NCAA Football Championship Subdivision title, their first national title since winning their last Division II title in 1990.

J. J. MeDermott threw for a touchdown (50 yards to Darius Johnson) and ran one yard for another score, both taking part during a 21-point first quarter as the Southern Methodist University Mustangs (8-5) dominated the Pittsburgh Panthers (6-7) 28-6 in Saturday's BBVA Compass Bowl. The win marked Mustangs' head coach June Jones III's 100th win as a college coach.

Friday, January 06, 2012

Joe Adams ran back a punt 51 yards for a touchdown (his fourth such return for a score this season) while quarterback Tyler Wilson threw for two more scores as the #6 Arkansas Razorbacks (11-2) matched a single-season school record for wins with a 29-16 win over the #8 Kansas State Wildcats (10-3) in Friday's Cotton Bowl Classic.

Bowling great Don Carter, who was voted Bowler of the Year six times, was instrumental in the formation in 1958 of the Professional Bowlers Association, and became a charter member of the PBA Hall of Fame in 1975, passed away on Thursday night at his Miami home.

Thursday, January 05, 2012

Ryan Nicholas scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Portland Pilots (4-11 overall, 1-1 in WCC play) ended a seven-game losing skid with their first conference win of the season, 84-74 over visiting Santa Clara (8-6, 0-1). The Pilots shot 51% from the field compared to the visiting Broncos' 39%.

Charles Odum scored 18 points while Chehales Tapscott added 13 Michael Harthun and Lateef McMullan 12 apiece as the Portland State Vikings (7-8 overall, 1-2 in Big Sky play) picked up their first conference win of the season with a 82-62 home win over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (5-10, 1-2).

Jared Cunningham and Ahmad Starks each scored 24 points on Thursday night as the Oregon State Beavers (11-4 overall, 1-2 in Pac-12 play) held off the visiting California Golden Bears (12-4. 2-1) 92-85 for their first conference win of the season, offsetting the 26-point performance from Cal's Jorge Gutierrez.

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Quarterback Geno Smith threw for a bowl-game-record six touchdowns, four of them (also tying a bowl game record) to Tavon Austin, as the #23 West Virginia Mountaineers (10-3) demolished the #15 Clemson Tigers (10-4) 70-33 in Wednesday's Orange Bowl game. The 70 points scored by the Mountaineers broke the regulation record for most points scored in a bowl game that was set only six days ago by the Baylor Bears in their Alamo Bowl win over Washington.

From the Van Beuren Corporation in 1935 (and originally distributed by RKO Radio Pictures), we present "Molly Moo-Cow and the Butterflies," part of the studio's Rainbow Parade series. In this one, Molly befriends some butterflies and rescues them of a zany butterfly collector. With music by Winston Sharples, this cartoon was directed by Burt Gillett and Tom Palmer.

Monday, January 02, 2012

Brandon Weeden threw for 399 yards and three touchdowns to Justin Blackmon and Quinn Sharp connected on a 22-yard field goal in overtime as the Oklahoma State Cowboys (12-1; #3 in BCS rankings) defeated the Stanford Cardinal (11-2; #4 in BCS rankings) 41-38 in Monday's Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, offsetting the 27 completions in 31 pass attempts for 347 yards and two touchdowns from the Cardinal's outgoing quarterback Andrew Luck.

Darron Thomas (that's him here) threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns (two to Lavasier Tuinei and one of 54 yards to Kenjon Barner), De'Anthony Thomas (named Offensive MVP) scored on runs of 91 and 64 yards and Kiki Alonso (Defensive MVP) came up with a key fourth-quarter interception that set up a 30-yard Alejandro Maldonado field goal as the BCS-rated #5 Oregon Ducks (12-2) came back and held off the #10 Wisconsin Badgers (11-3) 45-38 in Monday's 98th Rose Bowl game---the highest scoring game in series history--- for their first Rose Bowl triumph since 1917.

Le'Veon Bell scored the tying touchdown in the final seconds of regulation time and Dan Conroy kick a game-winning 28-yard field goal in the third overtime period as the Michigan State Spartans (11-3; BCS #17) defeated the Georgia Bulldogs (10-4; BCS #16) 33-30 in the Outback Bowl game played on Monday. This marked the first time in the Spartans' program's 115-year history that they won ten or more games in back-to-back seasons and they came back from a 16-point halftime deficit to do so.

Game MVP Alshon Jeffrey (before being ejected in the third quarter for fighting) caught four passes for 148 yards and a touchdown on a Hail Mary pass from quarterback Connor Shaw from 51 yards out as time expired in the first half (pictured here) as the South Carolina Gamecocks (11-2; BCS #9) won a school-record eleventh game with their 30-13 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers (9-4; BCS #20) in Monday's edition of the Capital One Bowl.

Defense and special teams proved important to the Florida Gators (7-6) as they defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes (6-7) 24-17 in Monday's Gator Bowl game. The Gators' Andre Debose returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, the longest scoring play in bowl history, Chris Rainey blocked a punt that was returned for another touchdown. The win enabled Florida to avoid their first losing season since 1979.

Michael Crabtree caught two touchdown passes (one for 28 yards from Alex Smith and one for 14 yards from placekicker David Akers on a fake field goal attempt) and Anthony Dixon ran a yard in the fourth quarter for what proved to be the game winning score as the San Francisco 49ers (13-3) held off the home-standing St. Louis Rams (2-14) 34-27 on Sunday in the regular-season finale for both teams. The win locked up a first-round bye and the #2 seed in the NFC playoffs for the Niners. San Francisco will host a divisional playoff game in two weeks.